Pittsburgh Pirates: Home stand report card for 6/18 – 6/23

Starting Rotation

For the first time in more than a month the starting rotation is almost whole again. Trevor Williams returned to the mound Wednesday against the Tigers, and while he got shelled, allowing seven runs on nine hits over five innings, he’s the Pirates best healthy starter, and having him back is a huge boost to the staff.

Although Mitch Keller got sent to Indianapolis this week, his first outing at PNC Park was the best of his three major league starts thus far, and he’ll be back on the big team soon enough.

The Pirates got three good outings in their sweep over San Diego. Joe Musgrove and Chris Archer both did their jobs Friday and Saturday, throwing 12 innings with two Manny Machado solo shots being the only damage to their respective ERA’s.

In the series finale, Steven Brault pitched like a solid number five starter, which is about the best the Pirates can expect for him. He overcame poor home plate umpiring and a first-inning mental lapse by Kevin Newman to put together five respectable frames and keep the Bucs in the ballgame, which they ended up winning in spectacular fashion.

With the Pirates offense clicking, it’s important for the pitchers to do their part in getting this team back into contention. The staff did its part this week, which was much needed after a 2-8 stretch.

Now we’ll see if this can keep up against the mighty Houston Astros.

A-

The offense

The Pirates hitting is their biggest strength in 2019, and that didn’t change over the past week.

Against Detroit, the Bucs came back from a six-run deficit for the first time since 2008 to salvage a series split. The home stand ended with another historic comeback when Pittsburgh scored seven runs over the last three innings to complete the weekend sweep over the Padres.

Individually, Rookie of the Year candidate Reynolds continues to rake, while fellow first-year Kevin Newman is riding a 14-game hitting streak. Some of the bench players are also stepping up, with Jose Osuna and Jacob Stallings both delivering big hits over the weekend. In fact, so far this season no team in the Majors has been better at pinch hitting than the Pirates.

Overall, there’s nothing really to complain about regarding the offense. The Pirates have established a solid core of position players to build around, and it’s fun to watch during a season that has otherwise been frustrating.

A-

The Bullpen

Williams’ return to the mound gave the starting rotation a boost, and it looks like a return to form by Richard Rodriguez will do the same for the relievers.

Rodriguez was one of the Pirates’ biggest disappointments for the first two months of 2019, but after a vacation to the Hoosier state, the team’s top middle reliever seems to have found the form that made him so effective last season.

Rich Rod hasn’t allowed a run over 10 appearances in June, and this past week, was particularly impressive, striking out six over 3.2 scoreless frames.

The rest of the bullpen has been solid for the most part. Felipe Vazquez does Felipe Vazquez things, and Kyle Crick is still getting the ball to the dominant closer with the lead intact, although he made things interesting in Friday and Saturday’s games.

A developing concern with the ‘pen is Francisco Liriano. The left-hander has been one of the Pirates best stories in 2019, but he had a rough go of it this weekend, giving up a combined four earned runs in appearances Saturday and Sunday. These things happen, and it’s not worth worrying about yet, but the Bucs can’t afford to have Frankie struggling for an extended period.

Overall, the bullpen is coming together, and with Keone Kela due to come back in early July, there’s reason to believe things will only go up from here.

B+

Managing

When you lead a team that goes 4-1 over a home stand, it’s hard to find much to complain about.

As always, Clint Hurdle made some questionable decisions. Leaving Joe Musgrove in for the seventh inning Friday night was a poor choice that worked, and turning to Geoff Hartlieb in the eighth inning of a one-run game Sunday almost cost the Pirates a sweep. Hurdle compensated, however, with some good calls, particularly regarding his use of Jose Osuna.

While I don’t like Colin Moran sitting against left-handers, Hurdle knows Osuna is a hot hand and is taking advantage of that heat until the candle burns out. Without Osuna, the Pirates would have dropped at least two of three to the Friars, and may well have gotten swept, so Hurdle deserves credit for using him.

Most importantly, Hurdle deserves credit for how his team is competing.

The Bucs won’t go away, and while playoff dreams still feel unlikely, this is a group that’s worthy of appreciation for how it plays the game, and that’s a reflection on the manager.

A-

Overall Team Grade

A-